Dresden

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Dresden around 1900. Often called the Florence on the river Elbe

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Another beautiful view from across the river

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The Stadtschloss “ City Palace “

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The famous Zwinger “ Squeeze portal “ around 1900

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The Frauenkirche “ Church of our Lady “ built in 1743

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The Theatre square and Hofkirche

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“ August ll the strong one “
was born in Dresden in 1670,
and ruled Saxony from 1694
till 1733 as Prince-Elector.
From 1697 - 1704, and again
from 1709 - 1733 he ruled as
King of Poland also.
August ll the strong, had the
most influence on Dresden.
Many baroque style buildings
were built during his rule as
Kurfürst. “ Prince-Elector. He
loved the Italian architecture’
and employed many skilled
craftsmen from Italy, to build
his dream city of Dresden.

9.

Lust-Schloss Pillnitz

10.

August ll the strong ( he was known for his physical strength, he
could bend horseshoes and coins with his bare hands ) used this
gondola on the river Elbe. Often when he saw young women along
the shores, working in the fields, he would summon them to join
him on his gondola. Many at times this had natural consequences.
Although he had only one rightful heir to his thrown, he fathered
267 illegitimate children with many mistresses ( most prominent was
: von Cosel ) concubines and ordinary women. His first illegitimate
son ( Maurice de Saxe ) nevertheless became Marshal General of
France.

11.

Schloss Albrechtsberg very mediterranean looking

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August ll the strong, died 1733 in Warsaw as King of Poland, and as
Prince-Elector of Saxony. He had ordered, that his heart shall be
buried at the Hofkirche in Dresden. “ My heart will always be in
Dresden “. His body was laid to rest at the Wawel Cathedral in
Krakow Poland. Under his rule, the city of Dresden became one of
the world’s great cultural treasures.

13.

The evening sky over Dresden on
February 13. 1945, is just about to
become hell on earth !

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Night time attack by British bombers on February 13. 1945

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The glow of incendiary bombs being dropped on Dresden

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After the heavy bombing of Dresden, in the night of February
13 - 14. 1945, many fire brigades and rescue workers, as well
as Doctors and Nurses were called in from surrounding towns,
They tried to douse the inferno in vain, and save people, and
the wounded, if possible.
When the second unexpected attack commenced in the night of
February 14 - 15. 1945, they were caught off guard, and most
of them perished in this second unrelenting and fierce bombing
raid. American bombers gave it the finishing touch with more
daylight bombings on the 15th. of February.

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British Stirling bombers attack Dresden on February 14. 1945

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The next wave is on the way

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Let it rain…let it rain…American B17 bombers unloading

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More American bombers over Dresden

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Daylight bombing by the Americans on February 15. 1945

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Dresden was attacked on the evening of February 13. 1945
by approximately 700 - 800 British bombers, dropping about
3000 high explosive bombs on the city, in order to destroy the
rooftops of the typically sturdy built apartment houses.
In the second wave of the bombing, again with about 700 to
1000 bombers, more than 500.000 ! Smaller but highly
flammable bombs, containing napalm and other combustible
materials were used, to burn out the buildings and their
inhabitants. From a strategically point of view, this worked
perfectly. A firestorm raced through the city, generating
hurricane like winds due to the high heat.
Official numbers of people killed in this raid, are said to be
35.000, but this number is totally unrealistic, since there were
many thousands of German refugees, mainly from Silesia living
in tent cities ( camps ) within and on the edges of the city.
There’re estimates, that in reality up to 130.000 people lost
their lives in the 3 days of bombing.

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The inner city full of human corpses everywhere

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Corpses are being burned, to avoid typhoid and other diseases

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The grim task of collecting bodies continues at the Altmarkt

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The burning of humans in “ AGFA colour “

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Dresden burned for 7 days. Smoke is still lingering over what is left

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He, who has forgotten how to cry, will relearn it again
by the sight of this fallen city of Dresden.
Gerhart Hauptmann in 1945
Poet and Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature in 1912

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As if the statue wanted
to say : Look, what has
happened to my beloved
Dresden.

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A woman walking through the rubble

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The removal of debris in front of the destroyed Frauenkirche begins

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A surreal picture of sheep grazing next to the former Frauenkirche

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Dresden in 1949. Four years after the war

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This is the ruin of the old
Frauenkirche as it stood for
more than 48 years in the
centre of Dresden, as a
reminder of world war ll.
It was totally incorporated
into the new building, along
with thousands of stones
which were laying in the
rubble.
With the help of an elaborate
computer program, it was
determined, where each stone
may was located before its
destruction.

36.

This is the skyline of Dresden without the “ Frauenkirche “.
Only the silhouette is shown here, where the church once
stood.
The effort by a group of citizen, to rebuild this landmark,
was soon joined by a world wide campaign to raise funds,
to pay for the resurrection. In 1994 the rebuilding process
began, and in 2005 it was completed. In the decade long
process, many lost skills had to be relearned by the stone
masons. Some of the young masons made their
“ Masterpiece “ here, and donated it to the project.

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The new Frauenkirche is slowly taking shape

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More progress is being made

39.

Grant McDonald a British
artist and metal sculptor, was
commissioned by a group of
friends of the Frauenkirche,
from all over the United
Kingdom, to make this gold
cross on top of the cupola.
Ironically, during world war ll
his father flew bombing raids
over Dresden.
A lot of donations have been
made by British people and
from others from around the
world, towards the resurrection
of one of the world’s most
beautiful building. Thank you !

40.

Ik wens jullie allen een gezond 2007
Gro
etje
s
jant
jebe
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The cupola with the gold cross. Part of the old ruin can be seen here

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The cupola with the cross is being lifted into place

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The church is almost complete again

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It’s like a miracle.
Dresden has its soul
again. The beautiful
all new Frauenkirche.
The dark spots clearly
visible, are the old
stones, which have been
reused, and are sitting
in their former original
locations.

44.

The city of Dresden looks intact and whole again once more

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The inside of the all new Frauenkirche in its former splendour

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The charred old cross is permanently displayed as a reminder

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A view of the marvellous new inner dome of the rotunda

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The beautiful rebuilt “ Zwinger “

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The Semper Opera House

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A nice beautiful afternoon in Dresden

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A peaceful reddish glow over the Frauenkirche at sunset

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Dresden is going to sleep. May peace be with you always

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This presentation of the
destruction of the city of
Dresden, just tries to show,
what man is capable of
doing to each other, by
going to war.
The 3th Reich of Germany
is responsible for a lot of
atrocities during World
War ll.
But no blame should be
attributed to one country
alone. Instead we all must
learn from the past, and
today it is more important
than ever, when we witness
the horror in the middle east.
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